The Bible states that right doctrine must lead us to right action: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 1:22; 2:17). Actions or works do not merit salvation; God saves people by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. But God's saving work does then fashion Christians into the likeness of Christ to walk in his ways (Eph. 2:8-10).
In order to preserve the particular function and integrity of Christian Union as a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is imperative that all employees and all volunteers agree to and abide by the following good and necessary implications of the ministry’s doctrinal affirmations set forth in the Statement of Faith.
- Protecting the Unborn. Because God creates all human beings in His image and for His glory, we affirm the need to protect the unborn. In our day, this protection includes the rejection of elective abortion.
- Ending Racism. Because God creates all human beings in His image and for His glory in a beautifully diverse array of races, we affirm the need to end the evil of racial discrimination.
- Helping the Poor. Because God creates all human beings in His image and for His glory with inherent and inalienable dignity and worth, we affirm the need to help the poor.
- Embracing Personal Identity. Because God creates human beings in His image as either biologically male or biologically female, we affirm the need to embrace God’s design and gift and avoid all attempts at altering a person’s birth-sex or adopting an identity discordant with it (including elective sex-reassignment and transvestite, transgender, or non-binary “genderqueer” acts or conduct).
- Affirming Marriage. Because God created the institution of marriage to reflect His glory in the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong and exclusive covenant commitment, we affirm the need to (1) uphold and promote marriage as the exclusive context for the expression of sexual intimacy and procreation, and (2) avoid all forms of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) as distortions of God’s design for marriage and sexual expression.
- Stewarding Creation. Because God created and governs all things for His glory and the good of humanity, we affirm the need to steward all creation toward the common good.
- Pursuing Justice. Because God's providential rule includes the establishment of human governments, we affirm the need for virtuous leaders in all forms of government to ensure their proper function in the pursuit of justice and the common good.
- Abounding in Generosity. Because God created humanity to bring Him glory as their ultimate love and to use the gifts he bestowed on us for the good of others, we affirm the need to abandon greed and materialism and to pursue an abundant generosity in all of our relationships and communities.
The Christian faith has important implications for every area of life. And so the foregoing affirmations are not listed to deny other ones or to diminish their significance. This statement of ethics, rather, addresses conduct that is consistent with Christian Union’s statement of faith and necessary for the proper function of this ministry.
